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Veil of the Dragon Tom Barczak 9780985402204 Books

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Veil of the Dragon Tom Barczak 9780985402204 Books

“…all seemed like a ghost that he could scarcely remember…”

There is a lot to like in Tom Barczak’s Veil of the Dragon. Barczak is an artist/architect who delivers a splendid adventure with interesting characters, a beautiful style, and a haunting medieval setting. Veil of the Dragon is well-done, angelic warfare. Occasional sketches by the author are a nice touch, but they are not finished or abundant enough to affect the read. Barczak’s dreamy style carries the story well enough on its own (see excerpts below). Expect a poetic read, with lots of combat with demons, ghosts, and angels.

The two primary characters are neatly designed and paired: “Al-Aaron”, a young priest-warrior, serves as a teacher of sorts to the older “Chaelus,” a prince dragged into a battle for redemption. The child leads the adult in a believable, interesting way. They battle a disembodied evil (the titular Dragon), and those it has corrupted: the wraith-like Remnants. Chaelus is haunted by a former love, the loss of a mother, and a deadly relationship with his father.

Christianity is not overtly identified, but readers will detect its influence given the inclusion of:

Ever present themes of redemption
Lots of resurrection
A magic system based on blind faith
A medieval milieu with priest-warriors (Crusaders): these are the white robed, chain mailed Servian Knights, adorned with red, prostrate crosses on their chests. They are equipped with cloth covered swords and vowed to use their weapons only against intangible demons
Angelic warfare between a merciful Creator/Giver and a Dragon/Serpent who assumes shadowy form that can poison souls (arguably a more effective dark-force than Tolkien’s Sauron)

Keeping this nice work from a 5-star rating is its unique strength: the dreamy style was so constant and intense that I often got lost in the trips. As a reader I really felt the character’s struggle to discern reality from fantasy: “…all seemed like a ghost that he could scarcely remember…” An overabundance of the following words proved distracting: veil, shadow, azure flame, cenotaph, and happas. Veil of the Dragon offers more than it can resolve in one novel, which should motivate readers to track down the prequels (Awakening Evarun, a serial of six parts). I look forward to reading more artsy, grim Sword & Sorcery from Barczak.

EXCERPTS:

Ethereal Haunts
"Behind him, a bitter sigh resounded through the bent and broken wood. The forest was speaking. Behind him, the path he’d only just cleared had gone. From the trees, shadows bled like oil, folding down amidst the branches.”

“His breath held like a vapor. The Dragon’s whisper splintered across the frozen air.”

“The stones trembled as they changed, melting away like ice upon spring water. The passage closed in ahead of him.”

"Illuminating from beneath the water like a fallen angel, ghostlike in her glow, a girl child lay drawn in upon herself. Her head was shaven and her skin was bare. Ebony spandrels laced out from the black spots that covered her. Her lips moved faintly upon her upturned face. Her gray eyes flickered. A shadow turned in the water beside her, matching the one within.”
Demonic Creatures:
"The spirits’ breath hung like a black vapor in tendrils about them. Armored veils hid all but the abyss of their eyes. Beneath them, their acrid laughter shrilled out amidst the grinding clatter of their teeth. Yet it wasn’t laughter. No; it was a desperate sound, one of anticipation, the kind that a starving cur utters for carrion."

"The demons drew closer beyond the wall of shadow, their armored veils now torn aside. The terror of their empty eyes was bettered only by their ghoulish maws beneath, filled with beast-like teeth meant for the consumption of souls, the corpses of the Khaalish, torn and cast away beneath them. Unsated, they howled at the ones who had retreated from them."

"…a black and bloodied claw emerged, grasping at its edge. Sand clung to its wet, skinless flesh. The creature pulled its body up, pushing its way past the heavy bones that had caged it. It clambered until it stood, stooped and broken, naked in the rawness of its gray flesh.”


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Veil of the Dragon Tom Barczak 9780985402204 Books Reviews

I really enjoyed this book, kept me turning the page waiting to read what comes next. you won't regret buying this book will keep reading more from this writer.
The book is well written, but plodding.
Confusing.
I know the author personally. He's a friend and I admire his work. That doesn't make me biased. It makes me blessed. Blessed to know such a talented young man, and blessed to be one of the first to stamp my seal of approval on this amazing book.

Tolkien would be a fan of Tom Barczak's exciting adventure 'Veil of the Dragon'.
I read the whole thing, but failed to understand any of it. Kept hoping it would make sense. Just doesn't work. I suspect it is a religious treatise on evil. But it fails as a story and the characters fail to be anything.
Veil of the Dragon is the story of a land cursed by the “Dragon’s Sleep” a powerful plague that rots both the flesh and spirit. The tales revolves around Chaelus, a king from the house of Malius, whose throne was taken from him by an all powerful dragon and a child warrior called Aaron or rather Al-Aaron, as his title in the Servian knights dictate, who resurrected him from death to help fulfill a prophecy.

There is a lot that can said about an author who can take a classic fantasy troupe like a dragon and make something interesting out of it. Tom Barczak manages to in some ways be traditional with his storytelling without being generic, a very rare valuable trait for an author to have.

There is something otherworldly about reading this title, like you are reading the words of a dream. Paragraphs fall onto the page like poetry and you get the sense that the world presented to you is not quite like anything you have ever experienced.
The story begins with the resurrection of Chaelus and right from word one you feel as if you are walking through a kind of purgatory, a world still wounded by the past, not well rested enough for the future presented before it. It is as if by being resurrected Chaelus sees the world differently to what he once did, that he is a representation of time that many thought was long since buried.

That is how you feel when reading this, that you are seeing the world in the dream state of a ghost. It isn’t a sad feeling by any means, but a powerful one, it captures you within side this world and makes you feel a whole plethora of emotion. Sometimes I felt a little uncomfortable, sometimes I felt bewildered, sometimes I felt enamored, sometimes I felt hopeful. The only feeling I never felt while reading this was bored and that is a huge accomplishment on behalf of Tom Barczak.

That’s the biggest praise I can give this book, it felt more like I was experiencing this world and its tale rather than simply reading about it. It is often said that a good book is one that comes to life in the reader’s mind and Veil of the Dragon did that for me.
A beast has spread a vile sickness across the land, an illness turning the souls of the people dark. On it's surface this is a rich fantasy story of a small, seemingly mismatched group of heroes who have set out to free the land from an evil dragon whose goal is complete domination. I feel a bit silly writing that since the basic plot isn't the heart of the novel. Written by a visual artist, the book is visually and emotionally evocative. Even without the lovely illustrations the story easily comes to life in mind of the reader. We follow our heroes as they journey not only through their land but also into their own hearts, carrying their own darkness and light, loyalty and greed, faith and hopelessness, some carrying burdens of guilt and anger so heavy they hardly believe the depth of their own goodness and grace even while it is wildly apparent to the others. Barczak is an author to watch. Most authors can deliver an interesting story, not many bother to even try to bring the reader into the psycho-spiritual body of their characters and even fewer succeed. Barczak succeeds.
“…all seemed like a ghost that he could scarcely remember…”

There is a lot to like in Tom Barczak’s Veil of the Dragon. Barczak is an artist/architect who delivers a splendid adventure with interesting characters, a beautiful style, and a haunting medieval setting. Veil of the Dragon is well-done, angelic warfare. Occasional sketches by the author are a nice touch, but they are not finished or abundant enough to affect the read. Barczak’s dreamy style carries the story well enough on its own (see excerpts below). Expect a poetic read, with lots of combat with demons, ghosts, and angels.

The two primary characters are neatly designed and paired “Al-Aaron”, a young priest-warrior, serves as a teacher of sorts to the older “Chaelus,” a prince dragged into a battle for redemption. The child leads the adult in a believable, interesting way. They battle a disembodied evil (the titular Dragon), and those it has corrupted the wraith-like Remnants. Chaelus is haunted by a former love, the loss of a mother, and a deadly relationship with his father.

Christianity is not overtly identified, but readers will detect its influence given the inclusion of

Ever present themes of redemption
Lots of resurrection
A magic system based on blind faith
A medieval milieu with priest-warriors (Crusaders) these are the white robed, chain mailed Servian Knights, adorned with red, prostrate crosses on their chests. They are equipped with cloth covered swords and vowed to use their weapons only against intangible demons
Angelic warfare between a merciful Creator/Giver and a Dragon/Serpent who assumes shadowy form that can poison souls (arguably a more effective dark-force than Tolkien’s Sauron)

Keeping this nice work from a 5-star rating is its unique strength the dreamy style was so constant and intense that I often got lost in the trips. As a reader I really felt the character’s struggle to discern reality from fantasy “…all seemed like a ghost that he could scarcely remember…” An overabundance of the following words proved distracting veil, shadow, azure flame, cenotaph, and happas. Veil of the Dragon offers more than it can resolve in one novel, which should motivate readers to track down the prequels (Awakening Evarun, a serial of six parts). I look forward to reading more artsy, grim Sword & Sorcery from Barczak.

EXCERPTS

Ethereal Haunts
"Behind him, a bitter sigh resounded through the bent and broken wood. The forest was speaking. Behind him, the path he’d only just cleared had gone. From the trees, shadows bled like oil, folding down amidst the branches.”

“His breath held like a vapor. The Dragon’s whisper splintered across the frozen air.”

“The stones trembled as they changed, melting away like ice upon spring water. The passage closed in ahead of him.”

"Illuminating from beneath the water like a fallen angel, ghostlike in her glow, a girl child lay drawn in upon herself. Her head was shaven and her skin was bare. Ebony spandrels laced out from the black spots that covered her. Her lips moved faintly upon her upturned face. Her gray eyes flickered. A shadow turned in the water beside her, matching the one within.”
Demonic Creatures
"The spirits’ breath hung like a black vapor in tendrils about them. Armored veils hid all but the abyss of their eyes. Beneath them, their acrid laughter shrilled out amidst the grinding clatter of their teeth. Yet it wasn’t laughter. No; it was a desperate sound, one of anticipation, the kind that a starving cur utters for carrion."

"The demons drew closer beyond the wall of shadow, their armored veils now torn aside. The terror of their empty eyes was bettered only by their ghoulish maws beneath, filled with beast-like teeth meant for the consumption of souls, the corpses of the Khaalish, torn and cast away beneath them. Unsated, they howled at the ones who had retreated from them."

"…a black and bloodied claw emerged, grasping at its edge. Sand clung to its wet, skinless flesh. The creature pulled its body up, pushing its way past the heavy bones that had caged it. It clambered until it stood, stooped and broken, naked in the rawness of its gray flesh.”